Why a penny of prevention today is worth a pound of repair next week in the world of CCTV maintenance

Why a penny of prevention today is worth a pound of repair next week in the world of CCTV maintenance

By Graham McMonigle

One of the things that is never fully understood about CCTV systems, whether those in the local corner shop or the seemingly magical systems they have in TV programmes, like CSI, that appear to be capable of seeing round corners, is that all such cameras are recording 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their hard drives are continuously writing and overwriting data. Over an extended period of time, parts will fail.

Even the newest, most advanced CCTV or Fire Detection Systems won’t run forever without regular maintenance. Proper system maintenance increases the longevity of the system, detects degradation of power supplies, preventing full system failure, or can check physical mountings, avoiding potential physical injury to people.

Maintaining a system properly is as important as installing the right system in the first place. Here at VWS, we offer Gold, Silver, and Bronze service packages and even an at-a-charge cover to system-holders without service cover, during office hours.

Our British Approvals for Fire Equipment (BAFE) accredited engineers can carry out legal mandatory maintenance as approved contractors, including a reactive service that can cover repairs and maintenance before customers even know about them.

That is why our Gold and Silver service contract holders receive a 4-hour response time from our trained and qualified engineers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Gold service is both fully comprehensive and parts inclusive, and covers 2 preventative visits a year, to ensure that your security system is always in prime condition.

Silver holders can rest assured as a result of the same 4 hour response time, but parts are excluded from the price and costs are charged at a variable hourly rate. For the holders of Bronze cover, callouts are within 48 hours, and are charged hourly.

Maintenance and breakdown cover offers more than peace of mind, however. For Gold cover holders, we provide a 2 year guarantee on all parts installed by VWS, and all replacements are new for old, at every level of cover.

Even on preventative visits, we can help you to get the most out of your security system, by taking care of little system niggles before they become problems, or schedule regular firmware updates on fire, security or networking systems. In addition, our engineers will focus cameras and clean lens and housing to make sure they see clearly.

Maintenance of secured or concierge entry doors, regular checks and greasing will prevent costly jams. At the high-technology end of the spectrum, a regular maintenance schedule will prevent and detect cable degradation and interference, which arises when problems aren’t seen until it’s too late. Naturally, we provide a 25 year guarantee on all cable installed by VWS with the maintenance package.

And, whether a network is fibre optic or wireless, there are aspects that need maintained. Dust will build up behind walls and cause packet loss or even complete breakdown unless connectors and patch leads are regularly checked. Similarly, wireless network nodes often need repositioned or patched as the EM spectrum profile changes.

In short, there is no point putting in a state of the art system and assuming it will look after itself. It even helps customers to obtain discounts on their insurance. Maintenance is better than repair in the same way that prevention is always better than cure.